Here’s a recent article I wrote about the cloning of meat and milk from cows, pigs and goats.
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January 17, 2008 – Meat eaters in the US may be in for a shock.
In the most detailed “risk assessment” on the safety of cloned foods to date, The FDA has reported that meat and milk from bovine, swine and goat clones is safe for human consumption.
This conclusion was derived from a comprehensive “risk assessment” study conducted by the FDA and obtained by the Washington Post.
A statement taken from the 968 page FDA report in regard to bovine products states, “we conclude that there is no reason to expect that food from bovine clones would pose additional food safety risks compared with the same products derived from conventionally-bred cattle.”
On January 16th, A day after the report by the Post was released, the US Department of Agriculture called on farmers to voluntarily keep cloned animals out of the food chain until the idea of cloned meat in the marketplace gains wider acceptance and reach. This “voluntary moratorium” has been in effect since close to the beginning of the decade.
Bruce I. Knight, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the USDA, in a MSN news report says “there are only about 600 animal clones in the United States and most of these are breeding animals. ‘So few clones will ever arrive at the marketplace.’”
Though the relatively small number of cloned animals in the US may seem comforting for religious groups, activists and cloning opponents, there is evidence that cloned meat is already in our supermarkets. The Washington Post reported, “Executives from the nation’s major cattle cloning companies conceded yesterday that they have not been able to keep track of how many offspring of clones have entered the food supply, despite a years-old request by the FDA to keep them off the market pending completion of the agency’s safety report.”
The issue of cloned meat in the food supply has been contested much longer than the “years-old” request. A 2003 New York Times article reports, “Donald Coover of Galesburg, Kan., who sells semen for breeding, has been freezing semen from some clones of an Oklahoma bull named Full Flush… He said that this year alone he sold $100,000 worth of semen from Full Flush, enough to inseminate 2,000 cows.”
In 2008, Coover, told the Washington Post that it “is a fairy tale that this technology is not being used and is not already in the food chain.”
This is not the first time the FDA has released a report on the safety of cloned meat for human consumption. In reaction to a report released in December 2006, A poll, reported by ABC news, stated 65 percent said the cloning is morally wrong.
Because of the findings of the report, The FDA is not requiring special labeling on food derived from cloned animals or their offspring.
In Europe, the European Food Safety Authority has released a public consultation on the issue of cloned meat and milk in the food supply. The EFSA states on their website, “the ESFA recognises that the issue of animal cloning raises ethical, moral and other societal issues beyond its remit… At this stage, EFSA has not finalised its scientific opinion on the implications of animal cloning on food safety, animal health and welfare and the environment.”
The draft opinion is a call to scientists to contribute their findings to support or refute the information before February 25th, 2008. The results of their findings will be available at earliest by May 2008.
Commentary:
Of course this is frightening. Cloned meat may have been in our food chain since 2003 or earlier. Many of us know this already. Some don’t.
I guess it is good for vegans and raw foodies, who don’t succumb to carnivorous impulses, but for anyone else, it’s an issue that definitely needs to be addressed.
What is most ominous about this entire issue, is that there are insiders who’ve been aware of this all along. Just like anything, there are people in the know and people on out outside looking in. Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with some people knowing things and others not.
What I think is wrong is that since possibly the beginning of the decade, according to Mr. Coover, cloned meats were in our food chain without complete study and relatively skimpy reports. A somewhat dangerous predicament.
Now, 5 years after Coover was on the record for saying that he makes a decent chunk of change peddling cloned bovine semen, there’s finally a 968 page report. This type of practice is what creates mistrust and harm, regardless of the findings after the fact.
But all this is moot. I don’t believe it’s right or safe to clone cows or anything else in the first place. Stop messing with what is and let’s fix what we’re broken already.
That’s the real issue here.
Thoughts? Click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page to add your comment!
11:47 am on January 18th, 2008
Why am I NOT surprised that cloned meat may already be in our food chain?
Not a big meat fan anyway (although occasionally I like a “good” (not cloned) steak, this is enough to move me to begin to eliminate as much meat from my diet as possible. Bad enough the meat has chemicals, etc. without cloning, let alone WITH the cloning!
I think it should be imperarative that cloned meat be labeled as such and I can’t fathom how the FDA has gotten away with this.
There needs to be a grassroots movement to demand that such meat be labeled. Are you aware of anything like that?
Thanks for the info!
12:00 pm on January 18th, 2008
This is so very disturbing, Kevin. It’s not just the moral and health implications but the blatant disregard for proper safety and studies. And where’s the punishment? They can lose track of these freaks and continue on their mission to make more money. As soon as the wonderful government starts subsidizing the fruit and vegetable farmers, naturally bringing the cost down and STOP subsidizing the agriculture farmers, then the masses will listen more. When mom’s like me are struggling to have enough money to feed our kids and losing more and more time in each day, places that sell these Big Mac clones will continue to make money. We need real help here. It is obscene that it costs more for me to buy my kids a bag of organic apples than it does to buy dead animals… a lot more. Over $8 for the apples and 99 cents for the burger. Now, we still don’t eat the meat but I can certainly see the frustration so many other families must be facing.
Keep on Renegading, Kevin. You are a source of truth.
2:54 pm on January 18th, 2008
I am not impressed with your ‘argument’. Even after presenting some actual evidence (which is better then some bloggers) you completely disregard it and essentially say “This isn’t right because I have a certian opinion about it.”
3:07 pm on January 18th, 2008
While as a vegan, I don’t have to worry as much about this issue, I still wouldn’t say it’s “good for vegans.” Most people who are vegans do it for ethical reasons (ie. we don’t want to contribute to animal suffering). Cloning an animal really does nothing to alleviate suffering, and in some cases actually encourages it.
And although I became vegan for the animals, I have learned a lot about the health aspects of it. So I’m disgusted and frightened by cloned meats for several reasons.
Do yourselves a favor and try going vegetarian for a month.
Tracy
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Like animals? http://www.chooseveg.com/vegetarians-save-lives.asp
Wanna lose weight? http://www.chooseveg.com/obesity.asp
Care about the environment? http://www.chooseveg.com/global-warming.asp
3:29 pm on January 18th, 2008
This information, although not surprising, is very disturbing. Thanks for sharing and bringing it to the attention of us who hadn’t heard that it was fact.
3:32 pm on January 18th, 2008
Give me some evidence rather than invective and rhetoric! What is the distinction between a clone and a twin? Is meat or milk from a twin inherently unsafe? If so, then meat or milk from a clone might also be. If not, however, what is different about a clone that would make its meat or milk unsafe? There may be some significant differences, but I need some light on this issue, not just heat, if I am to be persuaded.
4:11 pm on January 18th, 2008
Just like genetically modified foods, cloning can and will eventually create issues with biodiversity. A diverse crop or herd can survive disease and changes in the environment. This is not guaranteed for cloned animals. Particularly for the long term.
The “Future of Food” a film by Deborah Koons Garcia presents a good argument of this very issue among others.
One of the main reasons cloning is even an issue is the fact that meats sold now are not uniform in quality, due to various issues of animal illness, feed quality, antibiotics, stress and a whole host of other holistic issues.
Many of these issues can be remedied by treating the animals kindly and humanely and feeding them their natural diets.
Not playing but playing Mother Nature.
I hope that clarifies my point.
6:31 pm on January 18th, 2008
Do you remember the film with Charlton Heston
manny years ago ” SOYLENT GREEN “,or SOLENT GREEN,I think that was the name. It was a futuristic movie, very interesting, on how “they” the powers to be were feeding the masses.Have a look at it and tell me what you think. At the time I personaly thought that it was far fetched.
Yours truly.
Yves
7:12 pm on January 18th, 2008
I thought it was interesting that the FDA report stated that there was ‘additional food safety risks compared with the same products derived from conventionally-bred cattle’.
Additional risk? I thought they said meat was safe….
10:23 pm on January 18th, 2008
If the FDA will sanction the cloning of cows without telling us they will also sanction the cloning humans for military purposes without our knowledge. I bet they have plans to mess with our fruits too. They need to start being held accountable for their actions. Instead of American citizens getting spied on I would like to see these corrupt agencies spied on and then exposed before too great an evil happens. Governments without chains around them always have a tendency to do deceive and do evil things. It would be great if every one realized that we all should be self governed.
I long for the freedom and power to do what is right without having to ask a king. Wouldn’t it be great to grow hemp without threats of jail? Does someone else own us? If not why do we need permission to grow hemp? Aren’t we supposed to be the master and government the servant? All these alphabet soup agencies are unconstitutional. We all should have liberty to do good things as long as we don’t harm others.
I feel sad/anger and all the evil happening. Thanks for exposing the cloning of meet on your site so that maybe something can be done to stop it from spreading.
Please take a moment to Google ronpaul for president in 2008.
5:35 pm on May 11th, 2009
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Great ways to eat only good and healthy food. To prepere yourself for upcoming years of hunger.
http://www.organic-farming.org
There are arround 1000 members and 10000 of threads for you to read and participate in most likely
one of the biggest problems on earth!
http://www.organic-farming.org
11:50 pm on October 11th, 2009
Nice overview. but this news has nothing to do with vegetarians. cloned meat is a meat. always a flesh.. it’s better to eat fruits and vegetables to have a healthier life. meat is a one good source of protein but there’s always cholesterol and fat.